Fool in the Rain
by This is a Creative Name
Summary: The trials and tribulations of one group of friends as they go from being toddlers to adults. Rated for later chapters.
1. Partners in Crime

Some might say the harshest place in the world is the desert, or the tundra. A place so cold your toes break off, or a place so hot you die of dehydration if you're out there for more than three hours. Kendall Knight disagreed with that statement. He knew the harshest place on Earth was the Diana Ingrid Evelyn Kendra Ilene Erma Simone Dorothy Ida Earls Day Care Center, better known to the children who lived on his street as the DIE KIDS, DIE! Day Care.

Kendall had been playing in the park when he had over-heard some kids talking about it and place had given him the creepy-crawlies ever since. Which is why on August 3rd at seven in the morning, he found himself freaking out at the thought of entering the building his mother seemed so sure of forcing him into.

"But, Mommy! I thought you loved me! Don't make me go in there!" He pleading, giving her his best 'puppy-dog-pout'. It almost broke the heart of Kathy Knight to see him so helpless. She knew she had to go to work, and this was the closest place to keep Kendall while she was waiting tables at _Al's. _

"Kenny, I do love you! That's why you have to stay here! I can't leave you alone at home, you might get hurt!" See that this wasn't working very well, Kathy bent down the height of her small child. "Listen, sweetie. If you do good and listen to Mrs. Earls, then Mommy will buy you another dinosaur for your toy chest. Okay?" She tired to fight a smile when she saw that Kendall was considering it.

"A T-Rex?" He questioned, raising his eye brows. Kathy hesitated, she had been against getting him the scary looking toy since she had seen it. But, she knew Kendall would love it and would be willing to go inside if she gave it to him.

"Fine. Now, come on!" She said, grabbing his hand and tugging his arm lightly. Kendall smiled and followed his mother inside the tall brick building, thoughts for terror forgotten. Instead, he thought about the soon-to-be-his new toy.

INSIDE INSIDE INSIDE INSIDE INSIDE INSIDE

The room inside was huge. It had zillions and zillions of blocks in one corner, crayons and paper in another, it even had a corner of books for the kids who knew how to read! Kendall's eyes grew huge when he spotted the table in the middle of the room. It was full of toys, all shapes and sizes. There were so MANY!

"Okay, Mommy. You can leave now. Bye! Love you!" He said, pushing his mother to the door. Kathy just laughed and bent down to hug him. She left, telling him she loved him and she would be back in six hours. Kendall just nodded and pushed her some more. Kathy left, closing the door behind her.

Kendall ran to the table and picked up the first dinosaur he could find. He had always loved them, they came in all shapes and sizes, colors and patterns. No two were exactly the same, just like with people.

Unfortunately, it seemed like someone else had the same idea as him. James Diamond reached his chubby little hand towards the triceratops, only to find someone else closing in on it. "Hey! Give me that!" He squealed, trying to tug it out of the other boys hand.

"No! I had it first!' Kendall yelled, tugging on it as well.

"I wanna play with it!' James cried.

"It's MINE!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"NA UH!

"YA HUH!"

"NOPE!"

"YEAH!"

"NO NO NO!"

"YES!" Kendall screamed, tugging on it one final time. The dinosaur flew out of his hand and smacked into the back of another boys head.

"OUCH!" The boy said, rubbing the back of his head. James and Kendall both burst out laughing.

"Me James." He said, sticking his hand out.

"Kendall." Kendall replied, shaking hands with the other boy. Since that day, the two have been partners in crime.

Second Grade. Just the sound of the words together made Kendall feel like a big kid. He was seven now, and he and James were still best friends. This year, they had started pee wee hockey at their local ice rink. The first day of practice, they met a new kid. He seemed pretty crazy, on and off the ice. The boy wore his helmet EVERYWHERE, and seemed to always be on a sugar high.

Carlos Garcia was definitely one strange kid. He was in James and Kendall's class at school as well.


	2. Two Becomes Three

Carlos Garcia was always a very, VERY cheerful boy. He always seemed to talk to everyone and everything. If he bumped into a wall, he would apologize. So, when he walked into Nathanial Oswald Trevor Arnold Nicholas Ian Christopher Edwards Patrick Lawrence Adam Carter Earls' Elementary School on August 17th, he couldn't help but to grin and say hello to all of the people he pasted. Most looked at him as if he had six heads, but a few children greeted him back.

James Diamond was to busying looking at himself in the mirror his mother had bought him to notice another boy right in front of him. Carlos had stopped to say hello to a girl with pretty blonde hair in braids named Jenny.

_**BAM! came the loud crash as the two boys collided. Carlos was lucky, he was wearing his lucky helmet at the time. James, not so much. He crashed into the hard concrete wall behind him, messing up his hair and hurting his head. **_

"_**Are you okay?" Carlos asked, looking at the boy who had pummeled into him. The boy looked up at him with unfocused eyes. **_

"_**Where am I?" He mumbled, closing his eyes. Carlos began to panic, after all, it was only his first day and he had injured another kid. He looked around for someone, anyone to help him. **_

"_**James! What happened?" Another boy shouted, running over to them. Kendall Knight hadn't seen much, only that the new kid had something to do with his best friend's head bleeding. **_

"_**He kind of bumped into me, and he fell over and hit the wall!" Carlos explained, looking for a teacher or another adult. **_

"_**Do you know where the nurses office is?" Kendall asked, looking at the weird, helmet-wearing boy.**_

"_**No." Came the ashamed reply.**_

"_**Stay here, I'll go get her!" Kendall said, racing towards the office of the kind old Nurse Stout. Carlos stayed by the boy, James? Is that what the other boy had called him?**_

"_**I'm Carlos. You're friend went off to get the nurse! What's your name? Who's your teacher? What grade are you in? How old are you? You like my age! Do you like puppies?" Carlos asked, momentarily forgetting that the boy's head was bleeding.**_

"_**What? I'm um…I'm um…James. I, uh have Mrs. Peters and I'm in the second grade…..I think I'm seven, maybe? I like most dogs…But, I uh don't like my…my…neighbors dog, Francis. It's mean." James slurred, his eyes opening and closing. **_

_**Cool! I have Mrs. Peters too! Oh, and I'm six…but I'll be turning seven in about two weeks! I want a dog, but my mom's allergic so we have fish! They're cool to though! I have a gold fish, named George! He's really cool, I'm trying to teach him how to play soccer, but Mom says that he'll just get hurt so I can't take him out of his bowl…" Carlos drifted off when he heard tiny sneakers squeaking down the hall, followed by a pair of sensible penny-loafers. **_

_**Nurse Stout was a heavy woman. She had short gray hair and took sass from no one, not even the principal. She stooped down next to James and asked if he could get up. He nodded shakily, then stood, swaying slightly. Kendall and Carlos stood on either side of him, ready to steady him if he happened to fall. They made their way to the Nurse's office and had James sit on a plastic, hard seat. **_

_**James had a minor concussion and was sent home. Carlos and Kendall came by to visit him later, and he told them all about the new toys his mom and dad had bought him as a 'Get-Well-Soon' present. The three spent the afternoon playing, laughing, and becoming best friends.**_


	3. Four Friends

The only town Logan Mitchell had ever know was behind him. His parents had thought that it was about time that he 'branched out, met new people, made new friends.' Their words, not his. Logan had been fine back in Little Hope, reading his books, doing some math. Being ignored by most, being bullied by the rest. He honestly didn't care what they thought, he knew that they were just to dumb to realize that he would be their doctor one day, and his hand could just slip every so slightly, and cut out their kidney or something. Well, he told himself that…

The first thing his mother did when they moved to Minnesota was sign him up for pee wee hockey. She told him that he would make lots of friends this way, and that he'd be Mr. Popularity in no time. He just rolled his eyes and nodded, making her worry about him.

On the first day, Logan managed to lose a tooth, and become their star goalie. He found out he actually _liked_ hockey, and maybe he might make some friends after all. Well, inside the locker room, he found out that this was not the case.

"You little punk. Think that you can just waltz in here, and become _our_ goalie? You're to scrawny to be a goalie! I'm our goalie! So, just leave! Go back to Loserville!" A huge, brick-wall -of-a-guy said to him. Logan just acted like he didn't hear him, praying that he would just go away. He didn't want his first day ending on a sour note like this.

"Are you deaf? I'm talking to _you_!" The boy/walking-building said, giving Logan a 'small' shove. He slammed into a nearby locker with a loud _THUD! _This attracted the attention of all of the guys in the room, all turning to see how the new kid would handle the bully.

Logan turned to look at the _thing_, A small trickle of blood making a line from his lip to his chin. "Oh, I heard you alright." He said, acting like he couldn't care less. Logan grabbed his gym bag and began to walk back to the door. He felt something hit the back of his head. The thing was soft and it didn't hurt him, but he didn't really want to know what it was. He just kept walking. Logan walked past a girl standing outside the locker room, looking like she was waiting. He noticed the jersey she was wearing, it was the same type of jersey he had just taken off. Upon inspection, Logan found out that this brunette, curly-haired girl must play on the same team as him, or in a girls version of the team.

The girl looked at him, her hazel eyes boring into his. "So, you're the new kid." It wasn't a question, she already knew the answer.

"Yep. I'm Logan." He said, offering his hand to her. She stared at it, as if trying to decide if she should shake it or not.

"Alex Reid." She said, walking away. Logan shook his head and walked home.

NEXT DAY NEXT DAY NEXT DAY NEXT DAY

"Don't forget you're Eggo!" Mrs. Mitchell called to her son. He rolled his eyes but grabbed the waffle, sliding his book bag on his shoulder and running out the door. Logan climbed onto the bus, walking to the nearest available seat, an empty on about halfway back. It practically screamed _'FOR NEW KID, WE DON'T WANT YOU'RE COOTIES!"_ Logan sat down and settled his bag on his lap, allowing room incase someone should want to join him.

Munching on his Eggo with cream cheese, he pulled out the book he was reading. One moment he was searching for _Shiloh_, the next his face was being slammed into the window. He mumbled a weak 'ouch' and looked at the perpetrator. It was none other that walking-building guy.

"Looks like we ride the same bus! How great is that!" He said, smirking. Bick-wall smashed up against him again, hitting the same place as last time. Logan groaned and gritted his teeth, wishing the pain would go away.

"Allen! What are you doing?" Some kid shouted, addressing walking building/brick-wall guy. Logan sort of remembered him from the hockey team. The boy was flanked by two other boys, one with longish dark brown hair and the other with a helmet.

"I was just saying hello to the new kid. Got a problem with that, Knight? Oh, are you going to be his Knight in Shining Armor?" He asked, bursting out laughing. Logan didn't think it was that funny.

'Knight' rolled his eyes. "Allen, did you come up with that one on your own? Because it's _so funny!" He said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Allen stopped laughing and glared at the three boys. _

"_You think that you're something special, all because you three are starters for the team! Well, Kendall you aren't!" He said, steam coming from his fat ears. _

"_Oh, why don't you just leave them alone, Tubby?" The girl from yesterday, Alex, asked._

"_Shut up, Reid! Or I'll…I'll…" _

"_You'll what? Sit on me?" She asked, smirking. The boys howled with laughter, causing Allen to get madder. _

"_Shut up! Or I'll knock the living daylights out of you!" Allen said, glaring at her. She didn't seem to scared by that._

"_Hey, why don't you try picking on someone your own size?" 'Knight' demanded. Allen glared at them, but he didn't have time to say anything because the bus lurched to a stop._

_Once off the bus, the three boys and Alex made their way over to him. _

"_I'm Kendall." The 'Knight' guy said. "This is Carlos," he said pointing at the boy in the helmet. "And James." The tall, longish haired boy waved. Alex just nodded at him, showing the boys that the two had already met._

"_So, what class do you have?" Kendall asked. Logan grinned, for the first time in what seemed like forever, he had a friend. Well, four friends. _


	4. Fairytales

In the sixth grade, a new girl moved into the groups neighborhood. Adelaide Judith Byrd was easily the tallest, gangliest girl in their grade. At 5'8" she looked like a giant, especially next to shrimps like Alex Reid. She was picked on by almost everyone. Mostly for her height, but many of the boys in her grade called her Bird because she had a rather large nose.

She was also the only Asian-Jewish girl in their entire school district. AJ was just down-right different then everyone that the children at school had ever met. On her first day, she was tripped numerous times, her books were shoved from her hands, and she ate lunch alone. Not a soul would talk to her, unless it was to make fun of her, and so she kept to herself. AJ never said anything in class and she never spoke to any of the other kids in her grade.

Never in her life had she endured so much ridicule. AJ honestly wanted to quit school, and just be home-schooled. Her father didn't have the time, and her mother had died a few months prior. That was the reason that they had moved.

AJ often found herself sitting in her room, reading a book. Books seemed like her only escape. In them, she could be whoever she wanted to be, and not some gangly, giant monster. She wished her life would be like a fairytale, and one day someone would just stop the pain and she could move on.

James Diamond always tried to look his best. Always. He NEVER went anywhere without his lucky comb and his favorite compact. James won't admit it, but sometimes he wore a little bit of make-up. Just a little! It really couldn't be called make-up, it was just a little lip balm…that tasted like cherries.

So, when he saw the new girl he felt jealous. She was a walking model, for Pete's sake! The girl was super tall, really skinny, and she had a bold look, Jewish nose with Asian features. Yet, people called her Bird in a mean way, and tripped her. It just didn't make much since to him.

One day, he saw her sitting by herself at lunch. James had yet to speak to her, so he decided to introduce himself.

"Hey, can I sit here?" He asked her, motioning to the empty seat next to her. She nodded and he took the seat across from her.

"I'm James."

"AJ," She replied, staring down at her half-eaten slice of pizza. "Look, you don't have to sit here, you know."

"Um…Okay?" James asked, wondering what she meant by that.

"So, where did you move from?" He asked after a short, awkward pause.

"I moved from Arlington, Virginia." She answered, still not looking up.

"Cool. Um, do you mind if my friends sit here too?" James asked. AJ looked at him for the first time, and she nodded, standing up.

"There, you can have the table." She began to exit, but James stopped her.

"Its okay, we can all sit together, alright?" He questioned, putting a hand on her arm. She jumped slightly, then nodded and sat back down. James waved over to Logan, who was walking with Carlos. The two noticed him then came over to sit down.

"Hi!" Carlos said, sitting down next to AJ. "I'm Carlos!" He said, grinning from ear to ear.

"And I'm Logan." Logan said, sitting across from Carlos, next to James.

"AJ." She said, smiling slightly. They noticed that the smile reached her eyes, making her look different.

At that moment, Kendall and Alex entered the room, arguing about who knows what.

"I'm telling you! Hulk is WAY cooler than Batman!" Alex exclaimed, sitting down on the other side of AJ.

"NO WAY! Batman RULES!" Kendall said, fist-bumping James as he sat down.

"Which do you think is better?" Alex asked, turning to AJ. Everyone looked at her, waiting to see who's side she would choice.

"Well," She began, looking a bit nervous. "I think that they're both pretty cool, but Spiderman beats them both?" AJ said, squeaking a bit at the end. Alex nodded approvingly, then she seemed to really notice that AJ was sitting next to her.

"YES! Oh, and I'm Alex, by the way." She said, smiling at the girl next to her.

"Oh, and I'm Kendall." He said, noticing her too.

"I'm AJ."

"So, do you guys want to come to my house after school?" Alex asked, looking at everyone, including AJ. The boys nodded, then looked at AJ.

"Sure."


	5. This is Halloween

Halloween was quickly approaching, and the gang was now in the seventh grade. They knew they were far to old to be trick-or-treating, but they all still wanted to do something for the holiday. It was Alex who suggested it, but they all agreed to it.

On Halloween night, they decided they would pay a visit to Old Man McClure's place. All of the boys in high school told them it was haunted, and it was the place to be on Halloween. So, Alex decided that they would go, and the rest shortly followed.

On the night of October 31st, Kendall Knight was in his room, packing a backpack. He didn't think that he would need it, after all, they weren't spending the night. They would only be their for two or three hours, long enough to look around, tell scary stories, and scary the pants off one another.

None of them had told there parents. They all just said that they were going to be hanging out at a Halloween Party that one of their friends were hosting. Alex said that it was Kendall's party, Kendall said that it was AJ's party, AJ said that it was James's party, who said that it was Carlos's party, who told his father that it was Logan's party, which then said that it was Alex's party.

A knock on his door stopped him from putting a flashlight inside his bag of random object that he deemed useful. Mrs. Knight poked her head in.

"Hey, Kendall. I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it Mom?" He asked, turning to face her.

"Well, Katie's babysitter cancelled at the last second, and I need you to take her trick-or-treating tonight." Kendall knew his six-year-old sister couldn't go trick-or-treating alone, but he also knew it would be disastrous if she went with them to Old Man McClure's.

"Mom, isn't there anyone else that can watch her?" He begged.

"Sorry, Kendall. I need you to watch Katie! Please?" She sighed. He took one look at her face and it said all of her thoughts. She hadn't been the same since the death of Mr. Knight, and she wanted to spend a bit of time with friends. Kendall could relate, so he silently nodded his head. Mrs. Knight smiled and told him thanks. She turned and left.

Kendall picked up his cell phone and dialed James's number. James picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"James, Mom said I have to baby-sit Katie tonight."

"Are you kidding me? What about McClure's place?" James exclaimed, beginning to panic.

"Relax, I'll just call up Jenny, she had a little sister, remember? I'm sure she'll take Katie trick-or-treating with them."

"Okay, well I'll see you in about thirty minutes." The two boys hung up and Kendall dialed Jenny Tinklers number and waited. She picked up on the third ring.

"Hi?"

"Hey, Jenny. Do you think that you could take Katie with trick-or-treating, since you're already taking Sarah?"

"Sure, Kendall! I'll be right over! Oops!" Kendall heard a crash in the background, followed by and 'I'm Okay!' He hung up and walked into Katie's room.

"Hey, Katie? You know your friend, Sarah? How would you like to go trick-or-treating with her?" Kendall asked, bending down to eye level of the small brunette.

"That would be fun!" Katie squealed, walking back over to her mirror. She was wearing a simple, all black outfit. Her hair was in a ponytail and her feet were covered by black slippers. A black ribbon in her hair completed the look nicely.

"Um, Kat? What are you supposed to be?" Kendall asked. Katie rolled her eyes and turned to look at her older brother.

"I'm a Ninja! Duh!" She said, throwing her hands into the air. Kendall nodded and walk back to his room to finish his packing.

About five minutes later, Jenny and Sarah showed up. Kendall said bye to Katie and told Jenny to call him if anything went wrong.

LATER LATER LATER LATER LATER LATER

"Hey, guys!" Kendall greeted his tight group of six. They all said their hellos and whatnot while walking up the drive way of Mr. McClure's house. Mr. McClure had died of 'mysterious' reasons about fifteen years ago.

No parent in their right mind would let any children anywhere near the McClure residents. It made strange, unexplained noises at the scariest times, and it was said to have a ghoul in the basement. Hardly anyone stepped foot in it, and then they usually only lasted a few minutes before running back out.

"Um, guys?" AJ questioned nervously. "I don't think this is such a good idea."

"Don't worry, AJ. I'll protect you!" James said with a sly grin. Alex rolled her eyes in slight disgust. James had been flirting with AJ for about six months now, and she was to shy to flirt back. Everyone knew that he had a massive crush on her, and AJ had told Alex that she kind of liked him back.

"Then who'll protect you?" She questioned, joking slightly. Carlos and Logan shouted out things like 'Burn!' and 'Oh!' It was quite funny to watch.

"Come on, let's go before it gets too dark!" Kendall said. He pushed every so slightly on the door, and it creaked open. Inside, it was pitch black and rather dusty. Kendall pulled out his flashlight and turned it on, quickly scanning the front room. It looked old, and very creepy so he fake-smiled at AJ and Alex.

"Ladies first." He mumbled, offering his flashlight to them. Alex rolled her eyes again and took it from him. She began to step inside when there was a sickening crashing sound. One minute Alex had a foot inside, the next she was no where to be seen.

"ALEX!" Everyone began to scream at once. They heard a terrible gasping sound, followed by a few moans. Alex had fallen through the floor into the 'haunted' basement.

Kendall sprang into action, jumping down through the small whole in the floor. He crouched down next to Alex, then motioned for the rest to follow. "James, go get help. NOW!" Kendall said, knowing that James was the fastest. He nodded and took off towards the nearest house. AJ, Logan, and Carlos jumped down next to him.

Logan noted that it was a fairly short jump, meaning that the basement wasn't that far underground. Alex must not be hurt to bad, right? He sure hoped not, because hockey season was coming up and she was one of there best, despite her being a girl.

"Alex, you alright?" Kendall asked, leaning closer to her. Despite the fact that they fought all the time, Alex was still one of his best friends. There fights were just little teasing, neither of them meant much to either of them. Alex was like his sister, and he couldn't imagine anything ever happening to Katie.

"Do," Alex wheezed. "I…Look…okay?" She said through gritted teeth. Alex was in to much pain to open her eyes, so she remained motionless on the floor. It felt like a thousand knifes were stabbing her leg and arm, making her go numb. She wanted to sleep away the pain, but she was vaguely aware of someone, Logan maybe, telling her to stay awake. Alex nodded, showing that she was awake. She felt someone take hold of her hand and squeeze it. Alex squeezed it back, showing that she was awake. She heard sirens, blaring out there arrival. Someone had joined them, and judging by the familiar smell of hairspray and cologne, she guessed it was James. She could only heard snip its of the conversation around her.

"Back…Ambulance…On there way…Won't be long now…"

"Mom…kill me…"

"Too,"

"Alex… hold on." Was the last thing she heard before drifting off to sleep.

She awoken when she was being lifted through a giant whole that had been made for her. Alex blinked trying to figure out what happened, then the pain hit her. It was like nothing she had ever felt. She began to gasp for breathe.

"Kid, you awake?" A paramedic asked her. She muttered something then nodded slightly. He nodded back, then told her to go back to sleep.

The next time she woke up, she felt a warm hand squeeze hers, like before. Alex squeezed it back, the opened her eyes. She was greeted by almost blinding white lights, and a room of people. They all began talking at once, giving her a headache.

"I love you all, seriously. BUT MY HEAD HURTS!" She shouted, causing instant silence. Alex then noted who was there. There was her mother and father, AJ, James, Kendall, Carlos, Logan, and Kendall's mother and his little sister, Katie. Almost everyone exited, except her five friends. Alex noticed that it was Kendall holding her hand. He dropped it when he noticed that she was looking at it.

"So, how much trouble are we in?"

**Authors Note: Hello! I would just like to thank you for reading so far. I know my stories aren't the best, so thanks for sticking with me. Soon, I'll need another OC character. I promise, the boys won't fall for all of the OC's! But, please reply if you would like for one of them to end up with James.**

**OC CODE:**

**Names & Age:**

**Appearance & Personality:**

**Note: ALL OC'S MUST BE REALISTIC! I DON'T WANT A SPIKY-HAIRED TEN YEAR OLD THAT CAN SHOOT LASERS FROM HER EYES AND GETS PREGNAT FROM JAMES! Please? Thank you!**


	6. Fairy Odd Mother

"Hey, are you going to Megan's party?" AJ asked Alex as they walked towards their groups favorite table. Alex shrugged and looked at AJ.

"Are you?" She questioned. Everyone knew that Megan Teddington was one of the most popular girls in their school. If you were on her good side, you would think she's one of the nicest people over; if you were on her bad side, then you had better run for the hills. For some reason unknown to anyone but Megan herself, Alex was on her good side. Alex was a loud mouth, arrogant at times, and stubborn, but Megan liked that about her. Megan called her 'Feisty' and 'Fiery.'

"Probably. I mean, it's not often that she invites me to these little shin-digs." AJ explained. "Plus, she said that we would be playing things like Spin the Bottle and Seven Minutes in Heaven…" She added, blushing slightly. Alex gagged at her very strange best friend.

"Then I definitely won't come. No one wants to see Eric's tongue down Megan's throat. Plus, what if I have to kiss Carlos or Logan? No thanks! Even weirder, James or Kendall!" Alex said, walking slightly quicker.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think that you haven't been kissed before." AJ smirked, making Alex stop dead in her tracks. She whirled around, stopping in front of AJ.

"And you have?" She countered. AJ lowered her head, staring at her shoes. "I just think it'll be fun, that's all." She muttered. Alex shrugged.

"Fine. If it means that much to you, I'll go. But you owe me big time, Byrd!" AJ grinned and hugged her best friend, repeating 'thank you' over and over again.

AJ'S HOUSE AJ'S HOUSE AJ'S HOUSE AJ'S HOUSE AJ'S HOUSE

"ALEX! Are you really wearing that?" AJ asked her socially-challenged friend. Of course, AJ wasn't the biggest social butterfly. But she didn't try to ward people off, either. Alex looked down at what she was wearing.

"What's so wrong with a t-shirt and jeans?" She asked. AJ rolled her eyes.

"Nothings wrong with the jeans! But, did you have to wear a hockey jersey?" She looked at it closer. "IS THAT A SWEAT STAIN?" AJ shrieked.

Alex shrugged. "So what if it is? It's not like it even matters."

"Of course it matters! You look like a guy in that! But don't worry, when I'm done with you, you'll look amazing." AJ said, starting towards Alex. Alex's eyes widened and she began to run from AJ.

Needless to say, AJ could out run Alex. She looked nice in a long sleeved pink shirt and her curly brown hair down framing her face. She got to keep her jeans, but she had to trade in her sweat-smelling sneakers for a gray pair of AJ's knee-length boots. AJ stepped back when she was done and smiled.

"You look amazing, Alex." Alex only grumbled and glared at AJ. AJ pushed her in front of her mirror, showing Alex what she looked like.

Alex wasn't one to dress up or get girlie. She was a tomboy at heart and everyone knew it. She would rather be smacking a puck then twirling on a pair of sissy skates, which is why she had refused to do figure skating when her mother had wanted to sign her up. Instead, Alex had decided to go with hockey and she was one of the stars of the team. Alex was so fast, she could easily out-skate the opposing team.

"I…I look…Thank you, AJ." Was all Alex could say. Who know a simple t-shirt, boots, and a touch-up with makeup and hair could make a girl look so different. Now she would surely be the one to catch every guys eye tonight.

LATER LATER LATER LATER LATER LATER LATER LATER

The two girls were planning on meeting their friends at the party, to which they were three minutes late. AJ had made them wait outside, claiming it was cool to be 'fashionably late.' Alex had just rolled her eyes, mutter something under her breathe.

"Okay, let's go!" AJ said, jumping out of her dad's car. He waved by and reminded her he would be back at nine to get them. Alex was spending the night with AJ, so she nodded at what he was saying.

"Do you think James will like my outfit?" AJ asked, twirling around to show off a jean skirt with a nice green shirt that made her skin tone pop.

"I'm sure Pretty Boy will be drooling." Alex said with a smirk. She loved her friend, she really did, but he was SO obvious about his crush on AJ. Of course, AJ liked James as well so it was all good. They were one of those couples that everyone just wishes they could get together already.

Since entering the eighth grade, all the girls (minus Alex) seemed to find Logan, James, Kendall, or Carlos attractive. Girls were always giving them their cell phone numbers and asking them to the movies, it wasn't funny. People told her she was one of the luckiest girls every, the boys were her BEST FRIENDS! They seemed to think that Alex could just lean over and kiss one whenever she wanted too. She loved her friends, just not like that.

AJ knocked on the door, only to have it opened by Megan herself.

"Hey guys! So glad you could make it! The party's in the basement and there are refreshments down there." She said, letting them in. It sounded so rehearsed, like she had been saying it the whole night. Knowing Megan, she said that at EVERY party she hosted.

The trio walked down to the basement to find it already containing about thirteen people. There were eight boys down there, including James, Carlos, Logan, and Kendall; and there were five girls there too. Eight and eight…you could tell that Megan had planned it down to a tee.

"Okay, so mingling, dancing, karaoke, Spin the Bottle, or Seven Minutes in Heaven first?" Megan asked. Everyone shrugged.

"Oh, how about we do a jig saw puzzle, or play Pin the Tail on the Donkey?" Alex whispered sarcastically to AJ, who stifled a laugh.

"What about Spin the Bottle?" Eric, Megan's boy friend suggested with a smirk towards her. At least Megan had the decency to blush. "Sound's good." She replied, winking at him. Alex and Kendall rolled their eyes.

"Okay, who wants to go first?" Megan asked, wiggling her eye brows. This was awkward, for no one wanted to go first. "Fine, I'll do it." She said, laying a long glass bottle on the table and giving it a good spin. It landed on Eric, big surprise.

"Yay!" She said, leaning over and kissing Eric. They're 'kiss' turned into an awkward make-out session. It was awkward because fourteen other people had to watch and try not to stare.

Finally, they pulled away, gasping for air. "So, Eric just spin the bottle." Megan said, hoping it landed on her, then they could continue their 'kiss.' Unfortunately, it didn't land on Megan. Instead, the bottle landed on a pretty blonde, tall girl named Hannah. Sending an apologetic look to Megan, he leaned over and gave her a brief, awkward peck on the lips. Hannah's face looked like she had just tasted the sourest lemon in the world when he pulled away. She took the bottle and spun it, landing on Carlos.

He looked frightened, like she would bite him or something. She leaned in and kissed him for about eight second and when they pulled away they both looked dazed and had huge, goofy grins on their faces. Obviously, they enjoyed it.

Carlos spun it and landed on Megan's best friend, Caroline. Caroline had long, flaming red hair and narrow, judgmental gray eyes. Their kiss lasted for about two seconds before Carlos jumped away from her.

Caroline's spin landed on a tall, handsome boy named Edwin, or Eddie for short. Eddie kissed her for a second before taking the bottle and spinning it, landing on Darcy. Darcy was a beautiful, smart girl who was envied by both Caroline and Megan. They kissed for ten second, both grinning when they were done.

Darcy landed on poor Logan, who looked a mess. She leaned over a kissed him and you could see his shoulders relax. The kissed for longed that Eddie and Darcy had kissed, showing that they liked each other. Finally, Logan pulled away. He spun and landed on none other that AJ. They both blushed and Alex noticed James glaring at them, like they had done something wrong. Logan and AJ kissed for a second, and AJ later described it 'like kissing my brother.'

AJ spun and landed on Kendall, both sighing because they had both wanted AJ to land on James. The shared a brief kiss followed by Kendall spinning.

Everyone at the table held their breathe, who would THE Kendall Knight have to kiss? Finally, finally the bottle landed on… Jenny Tinkler? No one had seen THAT coming. Jenny squealed and kissed him, smiling when it was done. Kendall, on the other hand, looked frightened. Jenny spun and landed on Megan's shy, awkward neighbor, Tyler. The two kissed for a heated about of time, close to the time Eric and Megan kissed. Tyler then spun and landed on Alex.

Oh, no. Alex had known that she would have to kiss someone, but she was hopping it would be someone else. She didn't not like Tyler, he was nice and all; but he wasn't first kiss material. Grudgingly, she leaned across the table the bottle was resting on and placed her lips on his. They were warm and soft and they tasted like potato chips. The kiss wasn't bad, but she didn't think it would count as a first kiss. He just wasn't the right guy.

When it was over, she spun the bottle and it landed on the only other boy at the table, besides James. It landed on a tall, shaggy-blonde-haired soccer player named Danny. He was nice enough, but the two hadn't really talked before. He flashed her a lop-sided grin and captured her lips with his. This kiss was certainly a lot better. Danny must have had experience, because he was good. His lips were soft and warm like Tyler's, but they tasted like peppermints. Alex had always liked peppermints. The two continued to kiss until someone coughed loudly, making them break apart. But for the rest of the game, they kept looking at one another.

**Okay, I know this chapter was a filer plus I haven't written for a LONG time, but my life's been crazy. Hopefully, it'll be calming down soon and I'll get more chapters out. This chapter is leading into something, I promice. I know the guys weren't in this one much, but they will be in the next one. As for the OC challenge, I'm sorry but I've decided to cancel it. I'm starting to like James/AJ, but I don't know if they'll keep liking each other or not. As for Alex, I do have a boy planned for her, so yep. Please, keep reading and REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**


	7. Sleigh Rides & Fences

Winters in Minnesota were always bitterly cold. Everyone knew that and they tended to stay inside during those long winter months. Except the children, that is. They always went sledding and made snowmen and had snow ball fights. It didn't matter what age you were, kids from five to eighteen always played outside during the cold snow days.

James Diamond was no exception. He and his friends always raced outside the second the woke up. Kendall's house was the meeting place, everyone brought there sleds and snow gear there to suit up and head for the hills (literally.)

Upon arriving at Kendall's, he found he was the third one there. Logan, Kendall, and AJ were waiting for him in the Knight's living room. He smiled and waved at Logan and Kendall, then walked over and sat down next to AJ. She was one of the prettiest girls he knew and it was no secret to anyone that he had a huge crush on her. Even she knew, but she didn't do anything about it.

"Hey, AJ." He said, faking a yawn and putting his arm around her. AJ turned a nice shade of pink and said a quiet 'hey.' Kendall and Logan both looked like they were trying not to laugh when there was another knock at the door. Kendall jumped up and answered it, revealing Carlos. He was always late. ALWAYS.

"So, now were only missing Alex?" James asked. AJ sat up straighter at that and frowned slightly. Alex was occasionally late, but never later than Carlos.

"Oh, yeah. She's spending today with-"

"Danny." Everyone groaned together. They all had different views on their best friend's boyfriend. Danny and Alex had been dating since Megan Teddington's party three months ago. No one had expected them to last longer than a week, but they were surprising everyone. Danny was one of the stars of the Soccer team, while Alex was one of the stars of the Hockey team. So far, Danny had been to all of their games, cheering her on. To everyone, he seemed like a good guy, but her friends weren't so sure.

AJ liked him, he made Alex happy; so what wasn't there to like? Logan had had to tutor him a year ago, so he thought he was okay. Carlos liked just about everyone and didn't see a problem with him, but Kendall didn't like him. He swore that there was just something weird about him and he didn't trust him. James didn't like him either, only because it was best friend code to hate whoever your best friend hated.

"Didn't she spend last snow day with him? When do we get our friend back?" Carlos whined.

"I'm sure we'll get her back soon. Maybe she'll spend the afternoon with us?" AJ said hopefully. She loved they guys, but they were a lot to deal with if you didn't have another girl around.

"Yeah, I'm sure she will. Somebody should text her and ask." Logan suggested. All five of them whipped out their cell phones and texted her the same message. '1:15, Hills?'

After the minutes of nervously waiting, AJ got a short text 'Sure. Tell others.' Was all it said. She told them Alex's answer and they all headed for the hills. They sledded all morning, all of them enjoying it. At twelve, they walked back to the Knight's house and had grilled cheese, chips, and hot chocolate.

James and AJ were sitting together again, but James didn't have his arm around AJ. They were talking and they looked like they were enjoying themselves. Kendall, Carlos, and Logan were all smiling, making bets on when James would ask AJ to the movies.

"You've got…a little…Right here, here let me get it." James tried to tell AJ she had whipped cream mustache. He reached up and wiped it off with a napkin, making her smile.

"Uh, AJ? Do you, um maybe want to, I don't know…Go to the movies sometime?" He asked, staring into her almond shaped brown eyes.

"You mean like a date?" AJ asked, smile growing wider.

"Not if you don't y'know, want it to be?" James's voice went up on the last word, making it seem like a question. AJ just smiled and nodded, knocking him back onto the couch with a hug. He just laughed and hugged her back. Carlos and Logan laughed and Kendall catcalled. The two pulled away, AJ blushing.

"So, let's go tell Alex the good news!" AJ said, standing up. Everyone else followed her to the door.

"Oh yeah, she'll hate that the missed this!" Logan said with a laugh. The grouped walked back up to the hill, everyone smiling at the afternoon to come.

Alex was standing at the top of the hill, looking down at the ground. She was standing next to Danny, holding a long, plastic sled. The part of the hill she was standing at the top of was the biggest, iciest, steepest part. She had never sledded down it before, and she was unsettled.

Alexandra Reid didn't get scared. Being scared was for little kids, and AJ and Carlos. Alex didn't believe in getting scared, especially at her age. Being almost fourteen meant you were almost and adult; and adults don't get scared.

So, it was hard for Alex to admit she was a little shaken up. Danny wanted to go down the hill together on her sled, and she had agreed to it. But that was at the bottom of the hill. Now, her stomach was flittering. Alex wasn't sure she could do it.

One look at Danny and Alex could tell he still wanted to. She didn't want to argue with him, so she set her sled down and motioned for him to get on.

"No, babe. Smallest rides up front, everyone knows that." He said, bending down to hold it still; waiting for her to step on. Alex took a deep, icy breath and sat down on it, waiting for Danny to do the same. Instead of feeling him sit down behind her, she felt someone push the back of the sleigh and she heard Danny laughing.

Alex grabbed the piece of rope used to steer it and held on with all of her might. She screamed as she felt herself go over a bump that sent her air-born. Alex wanted to close her eyes, but knew that if she did she could run into something. So, she settled for pushing herself against the back of the sled and screaming.

She kept going down the hill and she could see the bottom. 'Finally,' she thought 'it's almost over.' Alex reached the bottom…then she reached the street…then she saw a big, brown thing in front of her. She screamed, thinking it was a car and she was about to die. Alex made contact with her, and she saw something red trickle down her face. The next second, she heard someone ask her if she was okay. Alex managed to shake her head no before trying to stand up.

The person helped her and brought her towards a house. "Do you want me to call 911?" They asked. Alex shook her head, only making it hurt worse. "No, I just need some ice for my head. It's killing me!" She said, reaching up a gloved hand to touch it. When she pulled her hand away, she saw her once blue gloves were now purple and sticky. She was bleeding sort of bad.

A hand reached out to steady her, and she saw it was a lady. Probably the person who had asked if she was okay. "I'm calling for an ambulance." She said, walking back towards her house. A minute later, the woman returned and told her they would be here soon. Alex said a quiet okay.

"Do you want me to call your parents?" She asked and Alex told her their number. Her mother was at home and her father was at work, but they were both going to met her at the hospital.

After the ride in the ambulance, Alex and the woman were in the hospital. The lady's name was Mrs. Fisher and she said she would wait with Alex until her parents got there. Alex thanked her and asked what had happened.

"I just remember going down the huge hill on my sled and then hitting something brown. Everything else is fuzzy." She admitted.

"You hit my fence and knocked out a post. It's okay though, as long as you're okay." Mrs. Fisher told her. Alex nodded and tried to pull her cell phone out of her jacket pocket; but her hands were numb from the cold. Mrs. Fisher helped her and pulled her gloves off, making Alex's hands warmer. Alex saw she had several missed calls and texts from her friends, all wondering where she was. It was nearly and hour after she had told them she would meet them.

Alex called Kendall, the last to call her. It rang two times before he answered.

"Hello?" He asked, sounding distracted. She guessed he hadn't looked at the caller ID before picking up.

"Hey Kendall."

"Alex? Where are you? Why'd you ditch us?" He asked, sounding slightly mad.

"Don't be mad at me Kendall. I was just about to meet you when Danny asked me to go down the really huge hill with him. We were both supposed to go down, but before he got on he pushed me down the hill by myself. I ran into Mrs. Fisher's fence and now I'm at the hospital…" She said, after a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke up.

"I'll kill him."

"Don't you dare! He didn't know I was going to hit a fence! He probably just thought it would be funny."

"Fine." Kendall growled. "We're coming to see you. What room are you in?" He asked.

Alex smiled at the thought. Even thought she had been spending less and less time with her friends lately, they still wanted to make sure she was okay. "I'm still in the ER. I'll call you again if when they take me back." She answered. They said bye and hung up.

THE GANG THE GANG THE GANG THE GANG THE GANG THE GANG

"Was that Alex?" Carlos asked, meeting him at the bottom of the hill. They had all decided to go sleigh riding, even if Alex wasn't there.

"Yeah. Dude, she's in the hospital. Danny made her go down the huge hill and she went through a fence. We've gotta go see her." Kendall said, Carlos nodded his head and they waited for everyone else to meet them. Carlos explained what had happened while Kendall called his mom to take them to the hospital. She agreed and met them with the car and Katie. Mrs. Knight drove a minivan so everyone could fit.

The drove to the hospital and met Alex, her parents, and Mrs. Fisher in the ER. Everyone seemed to agree that Danny was responsible, and Mr. and Mrs. Reid decided to give his parents a call; embarrassing Alex. Danny texted her later saying that he was grounded and they were through. Instead of being heart-broken, Alex was mad. She agreed with Kendall and James; who wanted to get back at him. Soon, the six friends had a plan to prank him so bad he would be the laughing stock of school for weeks. The plan worked well and soon, the gang were back to hanging out every day after hockey and everything was just back to the way everyone liked it.

**So, I know this chapter and the last seem sort of slow. ****The next one will be two, **

**but the one after that will be the one with Gustavo (most likely, it might be the one after that.) **

**But, the point is that they'll get better. **

**Anyway, to answer a question I got: By the end of this story, all four boys will have an OC. **

**All I'm saying about the OC is: James and AJ will more than likely be together.**

**If you don't like this, please feel free to review that you don't want them to be together.**

**I'd like to hear who you want Alex to be with (even though this chapter sort of hints at it!)**

**Also, next chapter I'll need two OCs! In chapter 5 (I think!) is an OC app, please reply with that. **

**No, it won't be an OC for James, but it has a chance of being on OC for Carlos or Logan (if I like it enough)**

**The girls will be 14 or 15 and they're ice skaters. NOT HOCKEY PLAYERS. Ice skaters. So, REVIEW!**


	8. Author's Note

**Authors Note:**

**Okay, I can't write the next chapter without two OCs. I understand that it's the holidays so not many people on are reading every story, but still. I won't add another chapter to this story until I get two reviews and two OCs; even if it take several weeks. I really like this story, but I can't continue it until I get two OCs. Sorry for my mini-rant, but I really want to know how my story is and I need those two characters. So, no reviews & OCs, no story. **

**- this is a creative name**


	9. Beautiful Friendship

**Disclaimer: I asked for them for Christmas, but I didn't get them. Oh well. I don't own Big Time Rush, nor do I own Daniela, Kaitlyn, or Fiorella. I just own AJ and Alex.**

**Wow, it's amazing what a threat can do! (Just kidding…mostly) Okay, so I've gotten three OC requests and I'm taking anymore. I decided I'll let the other review slide this once. Anyway, without further ado! The next installment of Fool in the Rain!**

STORY STORY STORY STORY

AJ Byrd wasn't clumsy. No matter what her friends thought, she wasn't a klutz. Sure, sometimes she tripped over her own feet, but who didn't? And okay, sometimes she dropped stuff. But she wasn't clumsy! Well, not on the ice anyway.

All of her school friends thought she didn't play any sports. They all thought she was their clumsy, stay-at-home friend. But no, she was a figure skater. Instead of watching hockey and playing it, AJ spent her free time skating around the ice rink in a practice outfit and little white skates.

She sat there acting bored while Alex made fun of 'those prissy sissies.' AJ hated it that her friends didn't like her sport, she put up with theirs! But no, not one of them liked hers. So she never told them that she figure skated. It wasn't that she was keeping it a secret, the topic just had never come up.

AJ liked spending time with her school friends, but she also liked spending time with her rink buddies. She tried to avoid them at school because everyone knew they skated. She knew if she was caught talking to them, her friends would be suspicious. The girls didn't mind, they didn't even seem to notice. Sure, every now and then they invited her to sit with them at lunch (she politely declined), but they didn't seem to mind. After all, there were six of them and only one Byrd, so they were cool with her sitting with her other friends. Most of the girls were in different grades, only three were the same age as AJ.

Daniela Parker was one of the most well-known girls in school. She was pretty with her long blonde hair and hazel/brown eyes. Daniela spent most of her time with her best friend and fellow skater, Fiorella Gonzalez. Fiorella was pretty in a different way than Daniela. Her curly/wavy dark brown hair reached her shoulders and almost matched her eyes exactly. Being Cuban, Fiorella had a tan year round. Both were amazing on the ice.

The other girl in their grade who skated was Kaitlyn Fahrendorf. She was friends with all of them, but they weren't quite as close as Daniela and Fiorella. Kaitlyn had sort of long dark blonde hair and hazel eyes that were hidden by glasses. Kaitlyn had her own group of friends like AJ, so she didn't hang out with the skaters that much.

AJ thought that skating would become cool with her friends when she found out that Kaitlyn was dating Kendall. The two had gotten together one day at the rink when Kendall was staying late to practice and Kaitlyn was early for her rink time. In the weeks that followed their little date, Kaitlyn began to sit with them. She spent the grand majority of her time with Kendall, who gladly spent his time with her. The two seemed to really like each other.

Alex talked to AJ about how annoying she found the two. She hated 'that girly twinkle toes.' Of course, she hadn't taken the time to get to know Kaitlyn. Alex just didn't roll that way.

Anyway, AJ was sadly mistaken. Alex didn't approve of it, Carlos was confused by it (his exact words were "But…they don't wear helmets! But they skate!"), Logan only saw the scientific side of it, and James didn't really care about it either way.

AJ had began to date James about a week after their date last year. She hated not telling him about her passion for figure skating, she felt like she was hiding half of her life from him. It made her sick when he talked about not having any secrets between them and all she could do was fake a smile and nod, hoping he didn't notice how green she had turned.

One day she came a little early for her ice time (which she shared with Kaitlyn, Daniela, and Fiorella). Kaitlyn was already there, flirting with Kendall. AJ quickly ducked behind a tall guy standing near her. She couldn't let Kendall see her! He would tell the others then they would all hate her and make fun of her! AJ pivoted around, hoping to escape before anyone she knew spotted her. She started to walk away, but then she bumped into Daniela who had Fiorella right beside her.

"Hey AJ!" Daniela greeted her with a smile. Fiorella waved hello casually.

"Hey, guys. I forgot my practice outfit in my mom's car, so I'll be right back…" AJ said, trying to get around them.

"I brought an extra, if you want to borrow it." Fiorella suggested. She was about the same height as AJ, both were towering over the slightly short Daniela.

"No, it's okay-" AJ started to say before she was cut off by Fiorella.

"It'll save you some time, come on." She said, tugging her arm to the locker room. AJ swallowed and followed nervously, hoping no one spotted her.

"Dude, come on! How long does it take to change?" James said, banging on the girls locker room door. He was waiting on Alex to finish getting changed out of her sweaty hockey outfit into jeans and a t-shirt.

"Just a minute!" Alex snapped back, her voice slightly muffled by the heavy door. Logan and Carlos were talking about the upcoming game and Kendall was off flirting with her figure skater girlfriend. He had texted AJ a few minutes ago, hoping she would meet up with them and go out for pizza or something. She had politely declined, saying she had to help her dad with dinner. He pulled out his phone and texted her back, saying he'd miss her. James knew that would make her blush, he loved it when she blushed. AJ smiled when she blushed and her smile would reach her eyes, showing how please she was. James wished he could see her face when she read his text.

A few seconds later he heard what sounded like AJ's ringtone. He shook his head, she wouldn't be here. She was at her house, cooking.

AJ searched frantically for her phone. She had to find it and turn it off before she drew attention to herself. When she finally found it and turned it off, she looked up. Daniela and Fiorella had both stopped, making AJ confused. She looked up and her eyes locked with a pair of hazel irises she loved. Her breath caught in her throat and she almost squealed with shock.

"I thought you had to help your dad with dinner." James said, studying his girlfriend. She looked nervous, her almond-shaped brown eyes danced with fear.

"I-I…No, I don't." She managed to stutter out. Fiorella elbowed her, helping her finish her sentence.

"What's going on?" James asked, waiting for an answer.

"Oh nothing, you're just blocking the girls locker room door." Fiorella said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. James ignored her.

"Um, yeah…I'm kind of a figure skater…" AJ finally answered.

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Because you guys hate figure skaters!" AJ said, her fear turning into rage.

"Wait, what? Why do you hate figure skaters?" Daniela asked, glaring at each boy in turn.

"Well we don't _hate_ figure skaters!" Carlos said, looking a little scared.

"What he means is, our friend Alex doesn't like figure skaters. We don't have a problem with them." Logan said, smiling at the girls. If AJ wasn't so ashamed of herself for keeping such a big secret, she would have picked up on the look on Logan's face. It was a look that rarely got scene, in fact; the last time it was seen was right after he kissed Darcy Skeins last year. It was a look of pure bliss. Now he wasn't aiming it at Darcy, he was looking at Fiorella like that. She seemed to shy away from him a little and turned her attention to the locker room door, which had just opened.

Alex stepped out and stopped, seeing James standing there with a look of hurt on his face. She took in the scene, pausing at AJ. "What's everyone standing around for? And why are you here?" Alex asked, not meaning to sound rude. She looked at AJ for the answer.

"Well, she's been lying to us this whole time. She's an ice skater." James said, crossing his arms. He decided to let Alex deal with AJ. Alex would certainly explode.

"What?" Alex snapped, glaring at AJ. "For how long? How come you didn't tell me? I'm your best friend! We tell each other everything!"

"I've been skating since the seventh grade. Dad thought it would be good for me to meet new friends." AJ said in a small, scared voice. "I didn't tell you because you'd make fun of me. I know we're best friends, but you hate figure skaters."

"I wouldn't make fun of you! I don't hate all figure skaters, just Kaitlyn! And we we're best friends, but now I don't think I can be friends with a liar." Alex said, stomping off. She was ticked off for sure. Alex walked down towards the ice. "Lover boy, get up here! You're my ride home and I want to leave _NOW_!" She screamed, scaring a passing guy. He was carrying popcorn, but spilled it when Alex began to shout. Seeing her face, Kendall quickly said bye and ran up the stairs.

"Chill, Alex. We're going now, don't get upset." Kendall said shrugging to Kaitlyn. He sent her the 'call me' sign and he picked up his bag.

"_CHILL_? Don't you tell me to _chill_ Kendall Francis Knight!" Alex shouted, making Kendall jump.

"What's up with you?" He asked, looking down at his short friend.

"AJ's been lying to us for YEARS! She's one of those prissy twinkle toes like your girlfriend!" Alex snapped.

"Did you ever ask her if she skated?" He asked. Alex scowled then shook her head.

"Then technically she didn't lie, she just never mentioned that she skated." Kendall said, picking up his hockey bag. "Now, why do you hate Kaitlyn so much?" He asked.

"Why did you hate Danny?" She replied. Kendall wouldn't look at her.

"I don't know, I just knew there was something weird about him. Now, why don't you like Kaitlyn?" He asked.

"I don't know. I guess she seems nice enough. It's just…I don't know. It just feels weird having another person in our group." Alex said with a shrug. Kendall just nodded and they got into Mrs. Knight's minivan.

BACK AT THE RINK BACK AT THE RINK BACK AT THE RINK

"Please don't hate me James." AJ begged. She had singled her boyfriend out, leaving Logan and Carlos to try to talk to Daniela and Fiorella. By the looks of it, they weren't doing to well. Daniela was trying to get to the locker room and Fiorella was staring at her shoes.

"I don't, I just wish you had told me. I would have been cool with it." James said, meeting her eye. AJ knew she had been wrong, but she didn't know how bad she would feel about it until she looked in his eyes and saw the hurt.

"Forgive me?" She asked, hoping he would. James studied her for a minute or two, then nodded.

"Okay, I forgive you. But, is there anything else?" He asked.

"Not that I know of…you?" AJ asked him.

"Nope, I'm good. You should probably go rescue those two." James said, pointing at Daniela and Fiorella.

"Will do." She said, walking back over to them.

"Hey, sorry I forgot to introduce you. Daniela, Fiorella; meet Carlos and Logan." AJ said.

"Nice to meet you. Now, we have to change…like NOW." Daniela said, walking past the boys.

"Bye." Carlos said, looking like a love-sick puppy. Fiorella ran after her, looking eager to get away. AJ just laughed and followed them, waving bye to her friends.

LATER LATER LATER LATER LATER

AJ called Alex later that night, after her practice.

"Hi." Alex said, picking up. She had caller ID so she knew it was her sort of best friend, sort of not calling.

"Hi." AJ answered. There was a short, awkward pause before both girls blurted out 'Sorry.'

"What are you sorry for?" AJ asked, confused.

"I blew up on you, I should have been more understanding. I mean, if you trashed talked hockey players all the time, I wouldn't tell you that I played it. So…sorry." Alex apologized.

"I should have just told you though. I'm sorry." AJ smiled, knowing she had her friend back.

"So, I think we might need a bigger lunch table. Those two girls standing with you, they'll probably start sitting with us, won't they?" Alex asked.

"Only if they want to, but I think they will."

NEXT DAY NEXT DAY NEXT DAY NEXT DAY

Alex had already found a bigger lunch table for their growing group and she had sat down. When she saw 'the love birds' as AJ had nicknamed them, she motioned them over. Kendall sat down across from her with Kaitlyn sitting beside him. Alex fought the urge to gag when she saw them holding hands under the table.

"Why are we sitting here?" Kaitlyn asked, looking around.

Alex stopped herself from leaning over and hitting her. "Because, _Kaitlyn_; AJ's friends are going to sit with us. If that's okay with you." Alex said sarcastically. Kendall glared at her and Kaitlyn shrugged. "I don't care." Kaitlyn replied.

James and Carlos came and sat down with them, not bothering to ask. Logan came over a minute later with AJ and her friends.

"Hey guys." AJ smiled, happy to have all of her friends in the same place. "Oh, and Alex. This is Daniela and Fiorella."

Both looked skeptical, probably because Alex had said she hated figure skaters the previous day.

"I don't hate all figure skaters, y'know. You two don't seem that annoying." Alex said, turning back to her lunch.

They looked confused. "Coming from Alex, that's a compliment." Logan explained, they both nodded.

"You know, this looks like the start of a beautiful friendship." Carlos said, smiling like a four year old with a new toy.

"That it does, that it does." Daniela smiled.


	10. No Talent Part One

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Big Time Rush, Daniela Parker, Fiorella Gonzalez, or Kaitlyn Fahrendorf. I just own Alex Reid and AJ Byrd.**

It's had been almost a year since Skate-gate as it's now referred to by the group. Kaitlyn and Kendall were still going strong , Alex still hated her, AJ and James were still together, Daniela and Fiorella still hung out with everyone. Things seemed to be settling into a pattern…things seemed to familiar. Nothing exciting had happened in quiet awhile, much to everyone's dislike.

As usually, they were hanging around waiting for the bus after school one day. Kaitlyn had booked extra ice time at the rink, so she had already gotten a ride from her mom and was no where to be scene. Fiorella had band after school (she was first chair clarinet, and intended to stay that way), and Daniela had gone shopping for a new warm up outfit; so it was just the six original friends.

Kendall, Carlos, Logan and Alex were all staring at the sprinkler system. The janitor, and elderly man with bad eyes and bad hearing, had left the valve in it; so it could be turned on with a simple turn of the long, black T. Kendall and Carlos were eyeing it like it was precious gold, while Logan and Alex were rolling their eyes and shaking their heads. James and AJ were having an animated conversation about James's latest 'pop star dream.'

"Opportunities like this come once in a lifetime," Kendall said, trying to convince Alex and Logan to help them turn the sprinklers on. "and when they do; you have to grab it, and turn that thing big time!"

Logan and Alex both rolled their eyes again. "Kendall, that is by far the worst idea you've ever had; and that's saying something. I mean, you've had a lot of terrible ideas!" Alex told him.

"Like that time you tried to drive the Zamboni…" Logan began.

"Or the time you wanted to climb that electric fence." Alex said, almost laughing at the memory.

"Oh, what about the time you convinced us to go to Mr. McClure's on Halloween and almost got Alex killed?" AJ added absent-mindedly before turning back to James. Alex glared at him when it was brought up. She had forgiven him, but it still made her mad.

"The point is, turn that thing and I predict a 90% chance of bodily harm; and I'm talking about us, not them." Logan said, pointing at the field hockey girls practicing across the field. Alex nodded in agreement.

"WIMP!" Carlos shouted, putting his hockey helmet on and running at the valve. It tried to turn it…tried being the word. The thing wouldn't budge. "It's stuck!" He said, without turning back to his friends.

"I had my pop star dream again last night…" Alex her James telling AJ. Having known James since she was nine, Alex had gotten good at tuning him out. She didn't listen to him until she heard "What are we doing?"

"Uh, the janitor left the T bar in the sprinkler system. Do you want to help us soak the girls field hockey team?" As if Kendall needed to ask. Alex walked over to AJ. "I can't watch this." She muttered.

Kendall and James walked over to help Carlos, then turned to look at their three friends.

"I gotta get new friends…" Logan said, sitting his book bag down. The four turned expectantly towards the girls.

"Oh no. You all want to play with the sprinklers, that's fine. Leave AJ and me out of it!" Alex said, backing up. AJ just shrugged and joined them, knowing James had hoped she would.

"You sure, Alex?" Carlos asked, motioning to the spot between himself and Logan. It would be a tight squeeze for most, but tiny little Alex would fit in for sure. She crossed her arms and glared, before dropping her bag and muttering "Stupid pear pressure…" The six of them turned the T bar sharply to the right, spraying the girls field hockey team with cold water. The six of them stood there laughing for a minute before there was a shrill scream and Kendall said "And now we run!"

Out of the six of them, AJ, James, and Kendall were the fastest. They were the tallest and they could run farther with their long legs. Alex, being the shortest, was slowest. At one point, the crowd of screaming girls almost had her, but then a long arm reached back and pulled her forward. Alex was now in front of everyone…but she was also slowing the group down. She might be the fastest on the ice, but she was the slowest on concrete. Alex felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her and she was thrown over someone's shoulder.

"PUT ME DOWN! NOW!" She screamed, punching the back of whoever held her.

"Relax, Reid. It's just me." Kendall's voice made it's way to her ears.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better because…?" Alex asked, still punching his back. Once she got over the initial shock of being carried, it was actually sort of fun; though she would never admit it to Kendall. But, Alex stopped hitting him and settled for taunting the running girls…until the reached a dead end.

"Why did we stop?" Alex asked, getting worried. The girls would soon catch up to them and then there would be all hell to pay.

"There's a wall. We can't get through." Kendall told her, setting her down.

"Who's brilliant idea was it to lead us to a dead end?" Alex demanded, right as Kendall called a time out.

"Give James the helmet, we've got to protect the face." He said as Carlos handed James his helmet. James put it on and motioned for AJ to stand behind him, which she gladly did. Alex didn't cower behind any of the remaining boys, she chose to take the beating like a man…er, tomboy.

"I love you guys!" James said, looking at his four friends and girlfriend. Kendall shrugged and said "Time in?"

Alex immediately felt herself getting hit by several hockey sticks. One whacked her in the eye, resulting in her screaming "I TOLD YOU IT WAS A BAD IDEA!"

After about ten or twenty minutes of beating up six trouble making kids, the girls field hockey team finally stopped. They didn't even check to see if anyone was hurt too bad, they just walked away; laughing and talking about practice.

All six kids laid there, groaning in pain. About five minutes later, Kendall sat up.

"Everyone okay?" He asked, putting a hand to his knee in pain. Kendall glanced around the group to see if anyone was hurt too bad.

James was the first to get up, followed by AJ. "Uh, I've been better. But, I don't feel to bad. What about you?" He asked, turning to look at AJ.

"Same…thanks for saving me." She said, smiling at James. Carlos, Logan, and Alex groaned.

"Can you please stop going all lovey dovey while we're in pain? It makes me feel worse." Logan muttered, sitting up as well. He had a nasty bruise on his forehead. Carlos and Alex both got up a few seconds later. Alex had her hand over her eye and Carlos was clutching his arm.

"You guys okay?" Kendall asked, noticing them getting up slower than everyone else.

"Do I look okay?" Alex snapped, glaring with one eye at him. He then turned to look at Carlos.

"My arm hurts." He said simply, looking down at it. Logan looked at it, then assured everyone it wasn't broken.

"Just really bruised. We need to get some ice on everyone's injuries though." Logan said, standing up. He offered his arm to Carlos who took it with his not hurt arm. Everyone else got up and began to walk slowly towards Kendall's house, which was closest.

When they arrived, Kendall ushered them into his living room. He then went to get some ice from the kitchen.

"I'll help." Alex said when she saw the guys turning on some channel playing a Pussy Cat Dolls music. Alex wasn't the biggest fan of the PCD, she didn't hate them but she didn't love them either.

Walking into the kitchen, Alex checked her eye in the reflection of the microwave. She hadn't taken her hand off of it since someone hit it, and it stung like twenty bees.

"Ow." She moaned, turning back to the freezer. Kendall had his back turned and had already left a small pile of slowly melting ice on the counter next to him. Alex walked across the kitchen and began to wrap three cubes of ice at a time in paper towels. When they had six bundles, Kendall grabbed one and put it against his knee, hissing at the pain and comfort it brought him. Alex picked one up and placed it against her eye, yelping when the cold touched her tender, bruised skin.

"What 'smatter?" Kendall mumbled, turning to look at her for the first time since she entered the kitchen.

"I got a hockey stick to the eye, that's what's the matter." She said, still mad that they had gotten beaten up. "I told you it was a dumb idea to soak them!" Alex said, glaring at him with her one good eye.

"Well it didn't seem to stupid when you were helping!" He snapped back at her, glaring at her as well.

"I only helped because you practically begged me!" Alex screamed, not caring if the rest of the group heard them.

"Oh I begged you? Yeah right! I just asked you to help!"

"Really? Why'd you pick me up?" She changed the subject.

"Because you were in my way. I would have been trampled if I hadn't! It's not my fault you're so short."

"We can't all be giants y'know!"

"Oh I'm a giant? Really? Danny's like three inches taller than me! You didn't seem to have a problem with _HIM_!"

"SHUT UP! At least with him I could actually stand being in the same room with him for five minutes at a time!" Alex lost it. She was so mad she didn't even care what she was saying, as long as it made Kendall mad.

"NO ONE'S ASKING YOU TO STAY!" He obviously felt the same way as he gestured to the door. It was that time someone decided to intervene.

"COOL IT, you two!" Logan shouted, making them go silent.

"It's okay Logan. You all don't have to worry about us fighting anymore, I'm out." She said in a voice so quiet it was a little hard to hear. She stomped out the door right as Kendall angrily stomped back into the living room, Logan following suit.

"I'll go calm her down." AJ said, getting up. She was always the one to get Alex to chill, just like James was the one to make Kendall calm down, and Logan made them stop fighting. AJ followed Alex outside and down the street.

"ALEX! Stop!" AJ screamed, running to catch up with her friend. Alex had gotten far in the three minutes she had been walking, but AJ quickly caught up with her.

"Look, he didn't mean it! You know Kendall, he's just like you. You both don't know when to stop being mean." She said when she caught up to her. Alex didn't turn around, instead she kept walking.

"Okay, so that was a little mean. But, come on! Just go back and kiss and make up or whatever." That got Alex's attention. She whorled around to face AJ and glared.

"Why would we kiss? We don't like each other! He _HATES_ me!"

"He doesn't hate you! He just…doesn't like you very much right now. I'm sure he'll be out here any minute begging for forgiveness." AJ assured her.

"Doubt it." Alex sulked. Just then, they saw a car drive by them. This wouldn't be unusual if it were a parent going to pick their kid up from an after school activity, or an adult on the way home from work…but sitting in the car was none other than Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan.

"What are they doing?" Alex asked as the boys screeched to a halt in front of them.

"Need a ride?" Logan asked from driver's side. Behind him was Kendall's elderly neighbor, who looked confused.

"Where to?" AJ asked, smiling at James. Alex would have made a comment about their annoyingness, had she not been confused as to what the boys were up to.

"We'll explain on the way, just get in!" James exclaimed, trying to reach past Carlos to open the door.

"Um, hello? There isn't any room!" Alex said, not as sassily as she would have had she not been both mad at Kendall and confused about their location.

"Duh, our laps!" James said with a smirk. He gestured for AJ to come sit on his with a smirk, making everyone gag.

"No thanks, I'll just stay here." Alex muttered as AJ gladly climbed over Carlos and on to James. Both looked happy and slightly squished.

"Come on, Alex!" AJ shouted, making them jump. She rarely raised her voice, she was always the most soft-spoken of the six. Alex took on look at her face before nodding.

"But, the back will be way to tight. None of us will be able to breath!" Carlos pointed out. Logan pointed out that they would be able to breath, but they wouldn't be able to move very much.

"Just get on Kendall!" James snapped, getting impatient.

"Dude, that sounded SO wrong-" Carlos said, laughing. He was interrupted by both Alex and Kendall shouting NO as loud as they could.

"Look, if we want to make it before five; just get in the car." Logan said, once again stopping them from fighting. Alex sighed, then walked over to the passenger's side door. Kendall opened it and she awkwardly sat down on his lap. Both looked a bit uncomfortable, but Kendall shut the door and Logan drove as fast as legally possible towards their mystery location.

James quickly filled them in on what they were doing and where they were going. AJ was really happy for her boyfriend, he would finally be famous. The kids let their mind wander until they got there. When they arrived at the audition and ran from the car, leaving it parked in the street and Kendall's neighbor still inside.

Running inside, James (with AJ not far behind) arrived first.

"My name's James Diamond, and I wanna be famous!" He shouted, then began to sing some scales. AJ appeared beside him nodding furiously.

"Fill out the rest of this sheet and wait for your number to be called." A petite African-American girl told him, slapping a sticky-pad with a number on it to his chest. She did the same to AJ who shook her head.

"Oh no, I don't sing." She said, trying to take the number off.

"Well, you're pretty. At least consider it." The woman said. AJ smiled and nodded, deciding she might as well.

By then everyone else had ran in and were standing behind James and AJ. They all watched as Jenny Tinkler from their home room was carried out by to huge security guards. She was screaming about how mean the guy was and how she was going to be the next Gwen Stefani. No one paid her much attention.

"You, name?" The talent scout asked, pointing at Logan.

"Who? Me? No, I'm going to be a doctor." Logan said with a smirk.

"Yeah well I'm a desperate talent scout and you have a cute smile and Justin Timberlake made forty-four million dollars last year."

"Hit me."

"I wanna be famous too!" Carlos shouted, then he began to sing like James had. The woman shoved a number on him and he cried YES!

"You! Tall, blonde, and eye brows. You want your dreams to come true today?" She asked, looking up at Kendall.

"Sorry, my dream is to play center for the Minnesota Wild. But I'll also consider the Maple Leaves." He said with a confident smirk.

"Ah." She said, slamming a number on his chest as well. She then turned to Alex.

"Curly hair, you in?" She asked.

"I don't sing." Alex deadpanned. She just nodded and stuck a number on her shirt as well. Alex glared and tried to rip it off, but dang those things were sticky!

"Eight ten is next." The talent scout said, walking away. Everyone looked down to see if they were eight hundred and ten. James noticed that was his number so he quickly took it off and switched it with Logan.

"Oh look! You're next." He said smiling. Logan just gave him the 'what-the-heck?' look.

"Dude, you don't sing!" Carlos said.

"Dude, that was the worst pep talk in history! Luckily, I'm a genius. I'll think of something. Kendall?" Logan didn't bother to turn around.

"Beat box."

"Got it." He said before taking his coat off and handing it to Alex. Logan then walked through the doors confidently.

About a minute later, Logan walked out with a terrified look on his face.

"Don't go in there! He's Satan! He's Satan with bug-eyed sun glasses!" He said, curling up into a ball and rocking back and forth. AJ rubbed his back before her own number was called.

"Wish me luck!" She said, walking through the door. Less that thirty seconds later, she was back out; hugging her sides as if in pain.

"He's worse than Satan! At lease Satan would stop screaming after awhile." She muttered, sitting next to Logan.

James switched numbers with Carlos. "All you buddy! Go get 'em."

Carlos looked at Logan and AJ before jumping up and putting his helmet on. He walked out grinning a few seconds later. Everyone looked at him, confused.

"Well I'm not going to Hollywood!" He shouted, obviously happy. Everyone high-fived him, laughing at him being so happy over something so silly.

James was called next and started to change with Kendall, but he put his hand over his number.

"James, this is your dream; not mine. Remember, opportunities like this come once in a life time. Grab onto that dream with both hands, and go big time!" He said, giving James a little shove. James looked uncertainly at Alex, who hadn't gone yet either.

"Don't look at me." She said, putting a hand over her own number. He nodded and walked inside the room. Kendall, Carlos, Logan, Alex, and AJ followed closely. They walked to the middle of the theatre while James walked up on stage. Somehow, Kendall's neighbor was beside them.

They heard James singing and the little old lady leaned over and said "Not bad." Then James's voice cracked.

"Hey, sorry I was a little nervous. Can I start over?" He asked, taking the microphone off the stand.

"Yeah, why don't you walk out then don't walk back in! NEXT!" The 'Satan with the bug-eyed glasses' shouted.

"But I'm good!" James said, obviously upset that he had been nexted.

"I don't need good! I need fire! Okay? I need someone who can knock me out of my seat, okay? And as you can tell, I'M STILL IN MY SEAT! Because you have NO TALENT!"

"NO TALENT?" Kendall shouted, jumping to his feet.

"I'LL KNOCK YOU OUT OF YOUR SEAT!" Alex screamed, looking like she meant it. She had been friends with the boys since Logan moved there, and she thought of most of them as brothers. Alex could make fun of them, but no one else should even try.

"You're the one with no talent! You haven't had a hit in ten years!" Kendall said, stomping up to the front of the room. Alex quickly followed, leaving AJ, Logan, and Carlos to stare at them shocked.

"Hey! Girl to My Heart by Boy Quake was a hit nine years ago!" The man shouted back.

"That song _SUCKED_!" Alex said, glaring at him with one of her signature glares.

"Girl to My Heart? Uh let me see if I can remember that Rocque classic…" Kendall said before bursting into song. Alex laughed at his crazy moves and soon joined in. When he jumped on the table, she was content staying on the ground. Suddenly, Kendall was being dragged away. Carlos sprang into action, jumping on one of the security guards. James jumped on the other, which made AJ jump into the brawl. Alex looked at Logan, both reluctantly nodded before going over to the massive clump of people.

"I gotta get new friends." Logan muttered before getting grabbed by a guard. Alex jumped on the back of one of them, the one Carlos had previously been on top of. Soon even Kendall's neighbor was hitting a security guard with a stick.

No less than three minutes later, the fight was broken up by the police. The group (plus Kendall's neighbor) were then escorted to Kendall's house, where his mom answered the door.

"Hey mom…Remember that time I saved you from choking? Wow that was close! And I love you!" Kendall said, smiling at his mother. The officers let go of them and let them go inside the Knight's house.

**A/N: So, thank you all for the kind reviews! I had a lot of fun with this chapter.**

**To the girls with the OCs, I'm sorry that your characters weren't in this chapter **

**(even though they got mentioned). I thought a lot about it, but**

**I decided that I'd like to have just the original six there. **


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